 UK economy |
| Search News |
|
|
| Find an IFA |
|
|
| Financial News |
|
| UK Spotlight |
Sterling has today picked up sharply after weeks and weeks of pressure and selling by investors. This comes just ahead of the MPC meeting to decide their next move on UK base rates and until just a...
→
Read More
|
|
| Disclaimer |
| Financialadvice.co.uk adheres to the Financial
Services and Markets Act 2000. This site contains only factual and
readily available public information. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Tuesday 19th February 2008
UK banks' adoption of more stringent lending criteria is set to significantly cut consumer spending levels this years, a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee has predicted.
Tim Besley issued the warning today in a speech at the Institute of Fiscal Studies, in which he noted that even small increases to the cost of borrowing for consumers have significant repercussions on spending.
He said: "With credit conditions tightening, we might expect a significant reduction in consumption growth over the coming months.
"It seems like a fair judgment that a return to the conditions seen for secured lending in the first half of 2007 is not imminent."
He added: "My time on the MPC, before and after the events of last summer, has reinforced my view that considerable weight should be placed on conditions in financial markets in understanding the transmission of monetary policy to the real economy."
Mr Besley's comments are set to spur further speculation that the MPC will soon opt to cut the base rate of interest from its current level of 5.25 per cent.
|
→ Full UK economy News Archive
→ Return to Homepage
|
|
|
|
| Other top stories in this section:
|
|
|
|
